Escaped capybara Cinnamon 'fled after being startled by mower'

Cinnamon, the capybara missing for a week successful the wilds, is "absolutely fine, different than a small spot tired," her keepers person confirmed.

The elephantine rodent escaped from her enclosure astatine Hoo Zoo & Dinosaur World connected Friday 13 September into adjacent woodland successful Telford, earlier being recovered successful a pond.

Will Dorrell, associated proprietor of the park, said "keeper error" had led to her fly done an unfastened gross aft being startled by a mower.

"We deliberation the tractor startled her and she dashed past and retired the gate," helium said. "During the abbreviated play of clip the gross was open, they hadn't seen that Cinnamon was successful the agelong grass."

Mr Dorrell added she seemed "very blessed to beryllium back".

Earlier successful the week, helium said "she was surviving her champion life" due to the fact that of the ample woodland and ponds nearby.

Joint proprietor Becky Dorrell told Today connected BBC Radio 4 she herself had spent astir of Friday "in our woodland... peculiarly the country that we archetypal saw her in".

"I was beauteous assured she'd determination from that area... and it was conscionable a lawsuit of trying to look for immoderate tracks oregon grounds of wherever she could person been," she explained

Ms Dorrell said a powerfulness enactment had travel down during a tempest 2 weeks ago, starring to immoderate trees being chopped down.

"That led to the pond and a load of reeds, truthful I conscionable benignant of followed that and immoderate tracks that [Cinnamon had] near and determination she was," she added.

Native to South America, tin turn to much than a metre successful magnitude and are the largest surviving rodents successful the world.

People worked for astir an hr connected Friday, during which clip the squad "slowly herded her into a spot wherever we could enactment the cage that we had and [we] conscionable benignant of coaxed her in".

Hoo Zoo & Dinosaur World said she was present backmost with her member and aboriginal connected Saturday would beryllium reunited with her parents, erstwhile it had had a vet travel and cheque her over.

Because capybara are non-native, Mr Dorrell stressed they had a work to marque definite it was not near roaming the British countryside.

The wildlife parkland said it had conducted a reappraisal and enactment caller steps successful spot to halt further escapes.

But the champion happening for her agelong word was to beryllium back, due to the fact that unit could show her health, Mr Dorrell said.

Asked if the tract would bash thing with this, pursuing the wide attention, and if a movie was successful the offing, helium replied: "I don't know. It's bully that truthful galore radical are [taking] an involvement successful this story.

"But, what's much important for america is Cinnamon's wellbeing, truthful determination won't beryllium immoderate benignant of decisions made connected that until we're definite that she's bully and acceptable and healthy."